The deadline for Fórsa members to vote on the proposed public service agreement called Building Momentum has been extended until noon on Monday 22nd February. The original closing date was 11th February.

The extension, which is designed to maximise the opportunity for members to participate in the ballot, became possible when the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) put back its deadline for individual unions to reach a decision.

ICTU’s Public Services Committee will now meet on 23rd February to take a collective decision to accept or reject the agreement. This is done on the basis of a weighted aggregate of individual union ballot outcomes, which means large unions like Fórsa have a huge impact on the decision.

If accepted, the agreement will benefit staff in non-commercial semi-state organisitions. 

The union is making huge efforts to inform and enable members to cast their votes at a time when it’s impossible to reach them in the usual way.

The progressive nature of the pay measures in the deal means its percentage value is heavily skewed towards staff earning less than €50,000 a year. It’s also the first public service agreement to address the additional working time introduced under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement. 

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, Fórsa members can only vote via our electronic voting platform. You need a ‘unique voter code’ to enable you to vote, and this code has been sent to eligible Fórsa members by email. Members who’ve misplaced their details have been urged to contact the union’s email helpline at ballothelpdesk@forsa.ie immediately.

Fórsa will now continue to issue ‘unique voter codes’ to eligible members who contact the union’s ballot helpdesk until 5.00pm on Friday 19th February.

Fórsa’s elected National Executive has recommended acceptance of the deal.

Details of the proposed new agreement, including the full text of Building Momentum, are available on www.forsa.ie